The Snotlings (sometimes called Snots) are an Orkoid species. They are tiny beings that appear as small Gretchin, and being so, occupy what is perhaps the lowest rung of Ork society. While the Gretchin serve as servants and other secondary positions in Ork society, Snotlings will serve sometimes as "pets," but more often they serve in Orkish agricultural and animal husbandry roles due to their affinity with the fungus and squigs that appear in Ork settlements. Supervised and trained by Runtherds, Snotlings will cultivate the fungus to provide Orks with food, drink, and medicine. Snotlings' affinity with squigs usually ensures that only a few dozen Snotlings are eaten by their "livestock" on any given day.1a

Snotlings in Combat

The battlefield is particularly unforgiving to the Snotlings, given their lack of the violent tendencies common in the other Orkoid species. The fact that they are weak and simple results in Snotlings using nothing larger and more complex than small rudimentary melee weapons.1a However, they are possessed of an animalistic intelligence that leads them to be unafraid of anything until it is too late. Their use on the battlefield is largely restricted to being sent through a warp tunnel created by the Shokk Attack Gun, as the weapon's Warp-maddened "live ammunition".1b

Creation of the Orks

The exact nature of the Snotlings is the subject of some controversy. Ork legend tells of a lost race of Orkoids that were highly intelligent, called the "Brainboyz" by the Orks. The Brainboyz created the other Orkoid species as a means of protection, while at the same time directing Greenskin society. What happened next is unknown. Some legends indicate the Brainboyz died out during a great plague (giving the implication that the Brainboyz were really the Old Ones). Other legends indicate that the Brainboyz reverted into the Snotlings.1a